MASTER PLAN I NTRODUCTION D EFINITION OF GREENWAYS & TRAILS

Transcription

1 June 2007 MASTER PLAN Committee Members: Nina Cannata - Chair Gerald Brock * John Inkster Thom Nobile Diane Tyson * Diane Wilson I NTRODUCTION * Deceased The Master Plan will provide strategies to maintain, enhance and perpetuate open space and greenways within the City of Lewes and surrounding areas. The accompanying maps help the reader visualize the network of greenways and trails in and around the Lewes area. The purpose of the Committee is to promote the connection and protection of open space through conservation, education and recreation within the City of Lewes and adjacent corridors. D EFINITION OF GREENWAYS & TRAILS According to the Council of Greenways & Trails / Division of Parks and Recreation / Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), Greenways are corridors of open space set aside for conservation. A greenway may be left in a natural state or include trails and pathways. Greenways tie together parks, wildlife areas, forests, wetlands, community open space and even historic sites. Trails are linear corridors on land or water that provide opportunities for recreation, transportation and interpretation. Trails can be used for walking, hiking, cycling, horseback riding, canoeing and other recreational activities. Some trails accommodate multiple uses, while others are for a single use.

2 A LOOK BACK... P AGE 2 H ISTORIC C ONNECTIONS To follow a trail is to establish a link with the history of man. It is at once the most primitive and the most civilized of activities. A trail may well have been followed first by animals seeking food and water; Indians following the game wore it a little wider. Explorers followed the same paths, to be followed in turn by soldiers and settlers and men who poured concrete over footpaths. The concrete now goes just about every place we need to go. But we now have the leisure to travel just for the sake of traveling, and there is no better way to do it than by trail. LENNON HOOPER, National Park Trails, 1973

3 P AGE 3 T HE CITY OF LEWES GREENWAY CONNECTS THE FOLLOWING: P ROMOTE C ONNECTIONS A greenway is a living system of interactions between humans and the natural and manmade environments they have helped to shape. A greenways system provides a way to link the seemingly unrelated elements of history, nature and land use into a coherent whole. Greenways connections can be privately owned or the result of private/ public partnerships. Some are open to educate visitors and some are maintained for habitat. -Parks and open space -Permanent open space -Private property that is dedicated open space -Delaware Coastal Heritage Greenway -American Discovery Trail -The Junction & Breakwater Trail -Cape Henlopen State Park -New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail -Broadkill River and Milton s Governors Walk Greenway -Southern Delaware Heritage Trail -Delaware Bay & Atlantic Ocean -Lewes - Rehoboth Canal -Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge G OAL: PROTECT OPEN SPACE -By promoting long term conservation through legal instruments as identified by the City of Lewes Zoning Code Connections with 2006 Aerial Definition Permanent open space parcel or parcels of land or an area of water, or a combination of land and water, which is permanently protected, by legal means, from development. Permanent open space may be public or common space or may be part of a private lot. -Through education and outreach efforts -By encouraging recreation using the greenways, trails, and related facilities.

4 P AGE 4 B ACKGROUND Other Studies -Open Space Report, Lewes Long Range Plan (Core Values) -Lewes Comprehensive Land Use Plan -Sussex County Comprehensive Land Use Plan -Cape May - Lewes Ferry Terminal Master Plan -Cape Henlopen State Park Master Plan -Greater Lewes Resource Inventory Report on Resource Inventory of Greater Lewes Jan 7, 2002 prepared for the Greater Lewes Foundation by Shelley Mastran -Transportation Plan Transportation Types -Pedestrian -Non-motorized cycles -Skateboards -Rollerblades -Boats -Motorized vehicles C ONSTRAINTS -Issues of Land Ownership -Land Use Regulations Wetlands DelDOT Access Zoning Classifications -Safety I NITIAL LEWES GREENWAY MAP Early Greenway Map

5 P AGE 5 E XISTING COMPONENTS Natural Features (see Map Appendix A) -Cape Henlopen State Park (Beach, Dunes, Forests, Marshes, Wildlife, and Nature Center) -Delaware Bay (Lewes Beach, Prickly Pear Natural Area, Roosevelt Inlet, Beach Plum Island) -Great Marsh and associated waterways (Green Hill Light site, Broadkill River, Canary Creek) -Lewes-Rehoboth Canal (Adjacent marshes and watercourses) P ROMOTE C ONNECTIONS Greenways are about connections: connections between people and the land, between public parks, natural areas, historic sites, and other open spaces, between conservation and economic development, and between environmental protection and our quality of life. CHUCK FLINK & ROBERT SEARNS, Greenways, 1993 By linking open spaces we can achieve a whole that is better than the sum of the parts. WILLIAM WHYTE, The Last Landscape, 1968 Cultural / Recreational Features (see Map Appendix B) -City Parks 1812 Park Alfred Stango Park George H.P. Smith Park/Blockhouse Pond Canal Front Park Mary Vessels Park Smith Avenue Park Zwaanendael Park -Open Space as per City Zoning that is currently not park land -DNREC boat ramp -Cape May - Lewes Ferry Terminal -Roosevelt Inlet/Cedar Avenue access fishing area -Lewes Beach fishing area -Lewes Beach swimming area -Cape Henlopen State Park Historical (see Map Appendix C) -Zwaanendael Museum -DeVries Monument Park -Black Harry s Spring -Lightship Overfalls -Decommissioned U.S. Life-Saving Station -Green Hill Light site -Fort Miles (Cape Henlopen State Park) Vistas (see Map Appendix D) -Cape Henlopen Point -Ocean and Delaware Bay -Maritime Forest on Cape Henlopen Drive -Freeman Highway marsh, canal and forest -Prickly Pear Natural Area -Lewes Rehoboth Canal -Great Marsh -Lewes Beach -Harbor of Refuge (Delaware Breakwater East End Light, Harbor of Refuge Light, breakwaters and ice breakers) -Blockhouse Pond -Canary Creek Trail

6 P AGE 6 E XISTING COMPONENTS CONTINUED Connections & Transportation Network (see Map Appendix E) -Access Points with parking and amenities Smith Avenue Pavilion with seasonal restrooms Cedar Avenue at Roosevelt Inlet with seasonal restrooms City Beach with restrooms and showers Cape May Lewes Ferry with restrooms Cape Henlopen Park Seaside Nature Center with restrooms and free bikes 1812 Park parking and boat docking Mary Vessel Park on Market Street with restrooms DNREC Canal boat ramp with seasonal restrooms -Trails Blockhouse Pond parking and seasonal restrooms Green Hill Light Trail Zwaanendael Park with restrooms George H.P. Smith Park Trail Cape Henlopen State Park trails Lewes Beach Anglers Road Trail -Roads Canary Creek Trail Savannah Road -Waterways Freeman Highway Lewes Rehoboth Canal Pilottown Road/Front Street/Gills Neck Road Delaware Bay Cape Henlopen Drive Canary Creek Cedar Avenue Broadkill River New Road Internal city streets -Sidewalks Dock walk on north side of Lewes-Rehoboth Canal Internal sidewalks -External Connections to other greenways (linkages) American Discovery Trail Broadkill River Greenway Governors Walk (Milton) ( ) McCabe Preserve The Nature Conservancy ( ) Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge via Broadkill River ( ) ( The Junction Breakwater Trail Lewes to Rehoboth ( )( New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail ( ) ( via Cape May -Lewes Ferry ( ) ( Delaware Coastal Heritage Greenway ( )( Southern Delaware Heritage Trail ( ) (

7 P AGE 7 P OTENTIAL GREENWAY COMPONENTS/CONSIDERATIONS -Roads (see Map Appendix F) Improved shoulder on canal side of Pilottown Road Improved shoulder on New Road (lack of DelDOT rights-of-way) Improved shoulder on Gills Neck Road State boat ramp access road (Park Road University of Delaware property) -Trails Spoil area trails adjacent to Angler s boat yard State/University of Delaware (potential to design trails/footpaths) Green Hill Light site trail expansion along historic old clam shell road adjacent to the Great Marsh Fourth Street forest trail easements (when developed so that connections remain) George H.P. Smith Park to New Road (trail easement via schools, Highland Acres, and easements along Canary Creek) Trail north of American Legion Road Queen Anne s Railroad spur (across marsh between Savannah Road and Freeman Highway or Cape Henlopen Drive) Warrington Farm Trail (between King s Highway and Savannah Road) Lewes Gateway (King s Highway bike lane/path) -Access Points DNREC, Division of Soil & Water Conservation, Dredge Operations state boat ramp Parking for Green Hill Light site Canal Front Park (possible canoe and kayak access) Canary Creek Trail (parking and bike rack) Vistas (Daytime & Nighttime) Easement to canal across University of Delaware land near DeVries Monument Canary Creek Trail (views of the creek and adjacent wetlands) Zwaanendael Farm (Lowder Mitchell s farm, additional conservation easement agreement) Lewes Beach (minimize light pollution)

8 P AGE 8 S UMMARY & CONCLUSION In conclusion, this master plan provides strategies to maintain, enhance and perpetuate open space and greenways within the City of Lewes and surrounding areas. Lewes is a hub in an endless network. You can paddle up the Broadkill River to Milton or journey to the Pacific Ocean on the American Discovery Trail. You can travel to another hemisphere through migratory birds that frequent the Delaware Bay and Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge. These opportunities need to be communicated beyond this document to the community at large through education and recreation. At the same time, our local open spaces need long-term protection through legal means to help maintain quality of life as the eastern side of Sussex County continues to be reduced to smaller and smaller parcels of land. These open spaces provide many benefits including wildlife habitat, vistas and breathing room. Some of these places provide opportunities to experience these benefits first hand; how better to know for yourself what is worth preserving? By promoting the connection and protection of open space within the City of Lewes and beyond, we hope that Lewes residents and visitors will recognize how the local quality of life is enhanced and how we are connected to the environment around us. GET INVOLVED!!